


Now That I See You

by AlexanderTheMostlyOkay



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-11-29 19:33:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/690631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexanderTheMostlyOkay/pseuds/AlexanderTheMostlyOkay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rabbit and Paige are super cute<br/>The End</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Collab with the wonderful Rabbit (PorrimMaryam.tumblr.com) after his tags shredded my heart like it was a block of cheddar

Walter Girl P and Rabbit were always close. Not the “conjoined at the hip we must have been born together” kind of close, but a strange emotional close. As far as robots can get to emotional, that is. Rabbit would sit outside quietly humming with Squeezy strapped to his chest and Paige would stroll up next to him and leans on him, listening to the rhythmic pulsing of his boiler. He would listen to her breathing. They would sit there for hours, until they had a show or mosquitoes forced them inside. 

It was an unspoken arrangement between the two. Every lazy afternoon they would be there. It was begrudgingly accepted by everyone in the Manor. (The Spine knew nothing good could come from it, but he let them be never the less.)   
On the days where it would rain or be too hot for outside meetings, the two would sit together in the living room and watch childish Disney movies together. Rabbit’s favorite was always Lilo & Stitch while Paige loved Tangled. Whenever Paige was busy and couldn’t make it to their afternoons, Rabbit would make sure the next one they had was the best yet, writing silly love songs and making delicious food for his favorite human. Paige was always so happy with whatever Rabbit did for her, even when he insisted on teaching Paige to dance which resulted in several bruises and a sprained ankle.

It was after one night of sitting outside next to each other looking at stars, Rabbit quietly singing Honeybee with an arm thrown lazily over Paige’s shoulders, that Rabbit realized something incredibly important.

He was in love.

He didn’t understand it. Even though he sang love songs all the time, he was still robotic in nature, and, by definition, incapable of emotions like that. Rabbit ran his fingers through Paige’s hair, the fibers sometimes getting caught in the gaps between joints. It hurt, but instead of pulling his hand away, Paige took the jointed metal into her own hand, guiding his fingers to interlock with her own. 

The metal was cold to the touch, but a welcomed change to the warm night. Rabbit reached the chorus of the song and Paige joined in as a harmony. “Oh honeybee-ee-ee. Honeybee-ee-ee.” The melody reached out into the night, and sounds of the Manor faded off into the background. 

When they had finished the chorus, Paige stood up and helped Rabbit up after her. “Let’s not finish it tonight. I honestly don’t want that song to ever end.” She blushed lightly, the slightest bit of pink coloring her near white face. The both made their way inside, holding hands. 

The next day, Rabbit decided to do something different. He told the other bots his plan and got Walter Girl Brianna to take Paige out of the manor that day. He wanted to make sure everything was extra special for what he had thought to do.   
He had the humans help him make a cake, angel food was Paige’s favorite, and he got everything ready for him and Paige to watch her favorite movie, Tangled. He blew up a couple balloons and after popping some of them by accident, he was set for his date with Paige. 

Two hours early.

In those two hours, he spent his time trying to find a way to tell her what he wanted to say. He practiced in front of the mirror, thought out scenarios, and recorded himself in his mind before he finally figured out how to make it happen. He would tell her during the scene where Rapunzel sees the lanterns, Him and Paige always sung the song they sing in the movie together. Rabbit was so nervous, but at the same time, his boiler was overheating with excitement.  
He heard the door open and close. Rushing down the stairs, he hoped he hadn’t missed Paige’s arrival. He did manage to trip down the stairs on his way down, falling flat on his face. Paige was standing in the entryway, helpless as the mound of metal crashed down on top of her. Rabbit quickly pulled himself up, afraid that he hurt her. She stands up, brushes herself off, and laughs. 

Rabbit attempts to stammer out some form of an apology, but Paige shushes him before he can get past the first syllable. The Spine, Hatchworth, Michael, and Matt were standing just outside the doorway into the living room, snickering to themselves. As Rabbit ushered her in, the others slowly retreated, not wanting to get in the way, but still invested.   
Paige gasped as she saw the festivities Rabbit had planned for her. He dragged her around, showing her all the things he had done, much like a proud little boy. Paige was blown away. 

“You did all of this for me, Rabbit? What’s the occasion?” Paige asked, confused, but excited. Rabbit grinned at her and dragged her to the couch. The cake sat in front of them on a coffee table.

“Well, I thought I’d d-d-d-do something special for my favorite human!” He replied, after sitting down with her on the couch. ”So, we’re gonna watch Tangled!” 

Paige smiled awfully big at how excited Rabbit looked. He looked like a kid getting his first bike on a Christmas morning, so happy and content with himself. It was extremely adorable.

After getting situated, with Paige resting her head on Rabbit’s shoulder, Rabbit started the movie for him and gave her a slice of the cake he helped to make. After watching the opening story of how Rapunzel came to be, Paige whispered into Rabbit’s ear.

“This is the best night ever, thank you, my bunny Rabbit.” She cuddled closer to him as he put his arm around her. He was nervous as to what she would say when he told her during the song they would sing, but he knew he should not be afraid.  
During the movie, Rabbit periodically stole glances at Paige. She sometimes would look back at him, but was mostly too engrossed with the movie and cake to do so. Rabbit was content will watching her; the flicker of her eyes, the movement of her jaw. When they finally reached Paige’s favorite scene, Rabbit gently guided her eyes to meet his own. 

He took in a large amount of air and started singing along with the movie, his voice a little less steady than normal. “And at last I see the light” Paige joined in quickly, her own voice wavering a bit. “And it’s like the fog has lift-ed” 

When the duet ended, Rabbit let a large plume of steam out, and quietly cleared his throat. “Paige, I… Paige I l-l-love you.”   
She blushed deeply, and pulled him into a deep hug. It was whispered, tentative, almost like she was afraid to say it, “I love you too, Rabbit.” 

Then, after hesitating a bit, Rabbit pulled Paige close and pressed his lips against the human’s. Paige was surprised at first, but kissed back the cold, metal lips. Breaking apart, they looked at each other and smiled their biggest smiles.  
Little did they know that behind them, peering in through the kitchen was almost the whole manor. Steve sighed and handed Michael a 10$ bill, The Spine crossed his arms and smiled, Hatchworth grinned and silently clapped, and Brianna looked, instead of at Rabbit and Paige, at The Spine, sadly and wishfully.

After their little moment of triumph, the manor’s inhabitants, sans Rabbit and Paige, went back to their own rooms and powered down and went to sleep for the night. In the morning, they found Rabbit powered down on the couch cuddling Paige close while she grinned in her sleep. There never could have been a happier couple.


	2. Chapter 2

The Spine found Rabbit hiding in his closet, digging through his suits and vests. Rabbit had never shown an interest in formal clothing, so The Spine was a little shocked to find the oldest Walter Bot buried beneath piles of black and red fabric. When he heard the silver automaton enter, Rabbit quickly covered himself in the assortment of jackets and vests. The Spine raised a curious eyebrow and shook his head slightly. 

“Rabbit, just what are you doing?” He sounded more confused than irritated, although he knew he was going to have to spend hours reorganizing the mess Rabbit had made. 

“Ya didn’t see nothing.” The clothing pile chirped. “Rabbit’s not in here, no sir.” 

Even if he was the oldest, he still acted like a child. 

“I know you’re there.” The Spine bent down a bit and moved clothes away from on top of his brother. He was met with a pouting, frustrated, copper robot.

“What g-g-gave it away, T’Spine?” He asked, crossing his arms and pouting even more. The Spine gave a small chuckle.  
“Probably my clothing talking to me.” He replied, “What are you doing in here, anyways?”

Rabbit got up and threw all the clothes that were on top of him onto a large pile in the closet. The Spine sighed, he’d have to re-fold all of them later.

“Paige and Me’s aniversery’s coming up! I need somethin’ to wear!” He replied with a frustrated expression. It was obvious he’s been looking for an outfit for a while.

“Well, where are you two going?” The Spine asked his older brother.

“We dunno yet.”

“You don’t know.”

“Yup.”

“How do you know you need a fancy outfit then, Rabbit?”

Rabbit opened his mouth as if to say something. Then, he closed it.

“Gee, I hadn’t really thought of that.”

“You should figure out where to go before you go digging around in my closet. Do you know where she likes to eat?” 

Rabbit off thoughtfully into the distance for a second, opened his mouth, and promptly closed it.

“Nope.” 

“Now why is that?” 

“D-d-don’t go out. Why leave when we’ve got perfectly good food here?” 

“So what you’re saying is that you want to have a date in the kitchen?” 

“Yep.”

“Alright then. Kitchen date it is.” The Spine took a mental note to hide all small appliances. 

“I s-s-still want to look nice though. Could wear the stage costume but that’s silly.” 

The Spine inhaled deeply and nodded. He started digging in the clothes mountain to try and find something that would fit Rabbit properly. About an hour later, and hour filled with Rabbits in baggy suits, he found a pair of black slack and a light gray dress shirt that fit him. The Spine stood back to admire his sense of style. The outfit looked surprisingly good on the elder bot. 

“So does Paige know about this engagement?”

“Well…n-n-no.” 

The Spine sighed at the copper robot. “When were you planning on telling her, if I may ask?” Rabbit looked at his feet and folded his arms behind his back.

“I kind of forgot to tell her. What d-d-d-do I do for tonight, T’Spine?” He wondered. The Spine gave a silent chuckle at his brother, couldn’t even get one thing right about tonight. 

“Well, I’m not sure what Miss Law likes, but I’m sure anything you come up with will make her happy.” The Spine replied.  
“But we’ve already w-watched all the movies in the house!”

“Then take her out, Rabbit.”

“Out where?” 

“Take her dancing, to restaurants the movie theater, there’s lots of places you two can go.” The Spine listed various dates he’s been on with women.

“But those are your things! I w-want Paige to do my things!” He whined like a five-year old child.

The Spine raised a brow. “Well, What do you like to do?”

“Watch movies, Make d-d-dinner, Go on picnics….” Rabbit’s eyes widened as realization hit him.

“Picnic! We’ll have a picnic! Thanks, T’Spine!” Rabbit happily bounced out of The Spine’s room, leaving The Spine thinking to himself, I wonder if Brianna would like to go out dancing with me tonight.

Rabbit flew down the stairs again, this time landing on his feet. He latched onto Hatchworth and dragged him into the kitchen, enlisting him to help with the meal. As a master sandwicher, he got to work making Paige the best sandwich robotic hands had ever created. Rabbit stood back and watched in awe as bits of lettuce and cheese flew around the kitchen, making a microscopic condiment tornado. 

The Spine entered the disaster zone of a kitchen to drop off a basket he had dug up, cleverly dodging a tomato flung at the wall. “You’ve got quite the meal going, don’t you Hatchworth?” He sidestepped a slice of provolone. 

“Sure do, The Spine,” Hatchworth replied in his faltering manner. “It should be perfect for Paige.” 

Rabbit was smiling, and his shirt was somehow still clean. The Spine let out a sigh of relief, just as a large splat of mustard covered the front of the silver bot’s shirt. He placed the basket on the counter, and walked out, rubbing his temples. He wasn’t aware if it was possible for robots to get headaches, but if it was, he had one. 

Hatchworth finished the sandwich quickly, and wrapped it neatly in wax paper. Rabbit cautiously placed it in the basket, and closed the lid. He picked up a slam from the entry way, and rushed to meet Paige at the door. He picked her up into a hug and quickly put her down. 

“Y-y-you won’t believe what I have planned!” He sounded like a kid on Christmas, and that’s one of the things she loved about him. 

Paige first noticed, in awe, how nicely Rabbit was dressed. 

“Don’t you look handsome!” She smiled and took Rabbit’s hand. Rabbit grinned back at her.  
“Yeah, But you look prettier, Paige!” Rabbit replied, earning a slight blush from her. She swung Rabbit’s hand back and forth and asked, “So what’s the agenda?”

“It’s a surprise, I’ll show you! You have t-t-to close your eyes, though!” Paige giggled and closed her eyes. Rabbit lead Paige through hallways and doorways and soon, into the backyard. He led her to a nice grassy hill and said, “Alright, Op-p-pen them!”

When she did, she grinned at the sight of a picnic blanket set up all neatly, Rabbit’s accordion laying on it and finally, Rabbit placed the picnic basket on the blanket. She could tell how excited he was to show her all this.  
“My gosh, Rabbit! This looks so perfect!” She clapped her hands together and hugged him, tightly. He grinned and kissed her forehead when the hug broke.

She looked up at him, smiling. He took her to sit down at the picnic basket, and she opened it eagerly. She was slow to bit into the sandwich, knowing that Rabbit didn’t have a way with food, as something that didn’t eat. To her surprise, it tasted delicious, and she ate the rest rather quickly in order to spend more time with Rabbit. Of course, Rabbit had no problem with her taking her time to eat. He liked to watch her, doing strange human things he had problems even imitating.   
She quickly wiped a spot of mayo off her face, and shrugged at Rabbit. He laughed and kissed the spot where it was previously. She giggled, supporting herself on the heels of her palm. They both leaned back, laying down on the warm grass. 

Rabbit began humming quietly, no real tune in particular. It was higher, but slow and methodic, relaxing both of them. Rabbit sat up, and strapped on Squeezy, turning the hummed melody into a real song. He couldn’t quiet place words into the note progression. 

Paige joined in, singing a few notes here and there. It definitely wasn’t going to be a hit single, but it was theirs, and they loved every second of it. 

When the song was over, they laid on the grass, enjoying each other’s company.

“P-Paige?”

“Yes, my Rabbit?”

“Can we just stay like this forever? I like r-r-right now a lot.”

Paige smiled. She took a camera phone out of her pocket and pulled Rabbit close to her. She snapped a picture.  
“There. Now we can stay like this forever. In the photo!” She giggled, earning a laugh from Rabbit as well. He grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it.

“I hope so. This is an awfully great moment, Paige.” He told her.

“I agree.”

“Oh, and Paige?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Rabbit.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouch

They all knew it was coming. Everyone besides Rabbit, that is. 

Paige was older, hair almost white, covered in wrinkles, laugh lines around her eyes. Rabbit didn’t see any of that. He still saw the young woman he fell in love with, and was blissfully unaware of the passage of time. 

It was time that killed her in the end, really. 

Rabbit went to her room to wake her up, as he always did. She was cold. He called for everyone, because he knew something was wrong. 

He was right. 

Everyone cried. The Spine held Brianna close, because it was just another reminder to him that she couldn’t last much longer. 

Rabbit’s eyes went dark and he couldn’t stop looking at her. 

She was gone, and he couldn’t believe it. 

They buried her in the Walter cemetery which was frightening large. They lost people before Paige, Michael, Sam, even The Jon when he ran out of Crystal Pepsi.

Rabbit refused to let anyone else carve her headstone. He had to do it. She was his love.

He sat by Paige’s grave, carving away at the slab that constantly would remind him she was no longer there. He ended up also drawing a little sun from Tangled that had stayed her favorite movie throughout the years.

Here lies Walter Girl Paige

He couldn’t think of anything other than that to put, he was sure he would soon enough though. But for now, that was all that could be said.

The other Walter manor inhabitants grew worried for Rabbit. He barely left his room. When he did, he refused to speak to anyone.

The only person Rabbit wanted to talk to about Paige’s death was Paige.

And that hurt so much.

He spent his time trying to figure out the best way for a final goodbye.

It wasn’t easy to try and find words. He was programmed to write nice, uplifting music (despite the occasional song about a man being dragged into Hell,) and he wasn’t able to put his thoughts into a melody. 

He stood over her tombstone, looking at the hard chiseled stone. He leans over it, running metal over the rock. 

Without even realizing it, he started humming Honeybee. It slowly grew into a full version of the song, emotion strong in his voice.

“…Hello, goodbye, t’was nice to know you.” 

Cold oil ran down his face, leaving dark stains on the metal.

“How I’ll find myself without you, that I’ll never know.”

He was so choked up he could barely sing, let alone get all the notes correct. His voice glitched and cracked, unable to be controlled. 

“…And now you have to go.”

And with that last note, Rabbit understood what he needed to put onto her grave. He carved those last words, the words that meant everything and nothing all at once.

And now you have to go.

He leaned against the stone and opened his vest up, just enough to get to the hatch where he can access his core.  
And now you have to go.

Rabbit reached inside, finding the familiar switch that Peter I had put there all those years ago. His Pappy. Just so if anything happens, Rabbit could be shut down. For good.

And now you have to go.

He knew what this meant, It was all he thought about anymore. He just wanted to forever be with Paige. Now that she wasn’t here, living beside him, what was he to do? Find another girl to “replace” her? He could never replace his Paige.

And now you have to go.

He gave one last look at the manor, a silent goodbye, and he flipped the switch.

Rabbit ran his fingers through Paige’s hair, the fibers sometimes getting caught in the gaps between joints. It hurt, but instead of pulling his hand away, Paige took the jointed metal into her own hand, guiding his fingers to interlock with her own.

The metal was cold to the touch, but a welcomed change to the warm night. Rabbit reached the chorus of the song and Paige joined in as a harmony. “Oh honeybee-ee-ee. Honeybee-ee-ee.” The melody reached out into the night, and sounds of the Manor faded off into the background.

When they had finished the chorus, Paige stood up and helped Rabbit up after her. “Let’s not finish it tonight. I honestly don’t want that song to ever end.” She blushed lightly, the slightest bit of pink coloring her near white face.   
“It has to end though, Everything e-e-ends at some point!”

Paige smiles and sings in the layered over harmony with Rabbit.

“Hello, Goodbye I’m rather crazy and I never thought I was crazy.”

“Now you have to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rabbit did it  
> It's all his fault  
> Please don't hurt me


End file.
